The Sword

[edgeofthorns]

...so I picked up Age of Winters on a wim last week and I liked what I heard! I've been spinning it all weekend, so I'm curious about their newest release. Any fans of this band here?

Iron Swan is a great track if you've never heard it before.

~Brian~

 

[edgeofthorns]

Wow, no love for The Sword here at all huh? (puts hands in pockets, hangs head....)

~Brian~

 

[PatrickHoyt]

I've enjoyed what little bit I've heard from The Sword. Never really followed them though.

 

[eppst1]

I have the new one and I like it quite a bit.

 

[TENTH DREAMER DECEIVER]

Piss boring budget Sabbath type band. Saw them live twice and unfortunately own AOW.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

I've heard too many stories from friends who have toured with them. I hear they're nice dudes, but the singer/main songwriter has absolutely no passion for the music, which from what little i've heard is VERY apparent.

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

man, you guys are missing the point. The Sword is constantly touring and so what if 60 % of their audience isnt musicians, they still have a fucking damn good time and BOTH releases i have from these guys rock.
my 2 cents

 

[edgeofthorns]

I've heard too many stories from friends who have toured with them. I hear they're nice dudes, but the singer/main songwriter has absolutely no passion for the music, which from what little i've heard is VERY apparent.

Now that's interesting. Why would he continue to stay in the band if he doesn't like what they're doing? I don't think they're really all that popular compared to many mainstream bands, so they're probably not rich.

~Brian~

 

[General Zod]

To me, The Sword is representative of one of those average bands that someone at Spin or Rolling Stone got a boner for and decided to pimp the hell out of. There's a whole genre of bands doing the whole retro sound, and The Sword are not among the elite of that genre. I'll take Graveyard, Blowback, Cavalar, Solace, Baroness, and of course Kyuss (just to name a few), over The Sword.

Zod

 

[edgeofthorns]

To me, The Sword is representative of one of those average bands that someone at Spin or Rolling Stone got a boner for and decided to pimp the hell out of. There's a whole genre of bands doing the whole retro sound, and The Sword are not among the elite of that genre. I'll take Graveyard, Blowback, Cavalar, Solace, Baroness, and of course Kyuss (just to name a few), over The Sword.

Zod

Graveyard has been mentioned to me by a local friend of mine that use to work at a cd store around here. I'll check the rest out as well. Of course, I've heard of Kyuss, but never explored their music.

~Brian~

 

[General Zod]

Graveyard has been mentioned to me by a local friend of mine that use to work at a cd store around here. I'll check the rest out as well.

Unfortunately with Graveyard, they are infinitely better live than on their debut. If they can manage to capture the intensity and quality of their live show on their sophomore effort, it will be amazing.

Of course, I've heard of Kyuss, but never explored their music.

Welcome to Sky Valley is my favorite Kyuss disc.

Zod

 

[Mattowarrior]

Hey guys. New here. My friend says that the Sword are basically a pastiche of High on Fire and Sleep riffs. I saw Sleep live back in the day and it was INCREDIBLE, seen HOF twice. Saw the Sword once and it was OK.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

man, you guys are missing the point. The Sword is constantly touring and so what if 60 % of their audience isnt musicians, they still have a fucking damn good time and BOTH releases i have from these guys rock.
my 2 cents

Goatwhore, Into Eternity, Belphegor, etc. are also constantly touring, so I'm not quite sure what that statement is implying. I also don't quite get the whole "so what if 60% of their audience isn't musicians" bit... does that matter for a band to be good? I never thought that it would, so I don't see how that would be points in their favor or against them.

Now that's interesting. Why would he continue to stay in the band if he doesn't like what they're doing? I don't think they're really all that popular compared to many mainstream bands, so they're probably not rich.

~Brian~

Mmm... good question, and one that I can't answer, only speculate about which I don't care to do here haha. All I know is what has been told to me directly and also what I've read. In essence, it gets back to "true vs false" for me, and if I recall, you aren't really one to care so it shouldn't effect your opinion of the band (note: this isn't intended to be bad, so don't read into it any more than simply what I said. If you like the music, then fuck, you like it. That's awesome). I just have heard that they aren't so much into the music as the image of the band and (even more important to me) i find their music fairly boring. I'll take other doom bands over The Sword any day (GATES OF SLUMBER anyone?)

 

[Jasonic]

People slag on this band primarily because a couple of the guys were in indie rock bands prior to the Sword, so their "metalness" is constantly being questioned.
While this might be true, I suppose if they are writing good tunes, that's all that matters.
If they truly have zero integrity as claimed, then they will go away soon enough anyhow.

I have seen a couple videos and thought they were ok.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

To be clear, i didn't say "zero integrity". I'm sure you weren't trying to prod me haha, but for the record i hear they are nice as people who just happen to be in the shittiest band ever

 

[DAVETHEMETALGUY]

Goatwhore, Into Eternity, Belphegor, etc. are also constantly touring, so I'm not quite sure what that statement is implying. I also don't quite get the whole "so what if 60% of their audience isn't musicians" bit... does that matter for a band to be good? I never thought that it would, so I don't see how that would be points in their favor or against them.

Mmm... good question, and one that I can't answer, only speculate about which I don't care to do here haha. All I know is what has been told to me directly and also what I've read. In essence, it gets back to "true vs false" for me, and if I recall, you aren't really one to care so it shouldn't effect your opinion of the band (note: this isn't intended to be bad, so don't read into it any more than simply what I said. If you like the music, then fuck, you like it. That's awesome). I just have heard that they aren't so much into the music as the image of the band and (even more important to me) i find their music fairly boring. I'll take other doom bands over The Sword any day (GATES OF SLUMBER anyone?)

meaning they appeal to everyday folk not just the prog-snobbery that runs amok on this forum

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Ahh. well, i guess i can only speak for myself personally, but i could give a shit about crazy arpeggios (never seen dream theater, never fucking will). A band has to be good, and to me (again, personal opinion only) the sword are not good.

 

[General Zod]

People slag on this band primarily because a couple of the guys were in indie rock bands prior to the Sword, so their "metalness" is constantly being questioned.

I knew they caught a lot of shit, but had no idea this was the underlying reason.

Zod

 

[edgeofthorns]

if I recall, you aren't really one to care so it shouldn't effect your opinion of the band (note: this isn't intended to be bad, so don't read into it any more than simply what I said. If you like the music, then fuck, you like it. That's awesome).

The above statement is correct. I've sampled a few of the other bands that have been mentioned to me in this thread, like Graveyard, and they bored me to be quite honest. The Sword really lays down some "meaty", thick riffs, which I dig to no end. With that said, there are a few occasions where the riffs sound out right "thrashy"! The song Iron Swan is a great example of that.

~Brian~

 

[General Zod]

To me, The Sword is representative of one of those average bands that someone at Spin or Rolling Stone got a boner for and decided to pimp the hell out of. There's a whole genre of bands doing the whole retro sound, and The Sword are not among the elite of that genre. I'll take Graveyard, Blowback, Cavalar, Solace, Baroness, and of course Kyuss (just to name a few), over The Sword.

Please file under the heading, "Admitting When Wrong".

The Sputnik site has recently become my "go to" review site. The reviews, by and large, are well written and the comments, unlike 99.9999% of the internet, are mature and constructive. It's rare that a band scores a 4.0 or higher. So when the newest release got a 4.0 and a 3.8 from the community, both being higher than any previous release by the band, my curiosity was piqued. Been through this disc a few times now, and I have to say I'm very much enjoying it. Obviously, they're not breaking any new ground here. But what band in this genre does? These are good tunes, with cool riffs and enjoyable vocal melodies. Check it out if this style is up your alley.